1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system audiovisual output, and more particularly to a method and system for PCI Express audiovisual output.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
A growing use of information handling systems is for the presentation of multimedia information, such as audiovisual information having video information for display on a monitor and audio information for play through speakers. In a typical information handling system, video information is prepared for display on a graphics card interfaced with a monitor and audio information is prepared for playing on an audio card interfaced with external speakers. Generally, the presentation of audiovisual information by information handling systems is performed in a manner inconsistent with the presentation of audiovisual information by typical audiovisual appliances, such as televisions. For example, televisions typically accept audiovisual information in an analog format through a single input while information handling systems typically process audiovisual information as digital data output with separate video and audio outputs. However, a number of industry standards support audio and video output from a single information handling system connector, such as data encoded into a single channel, like 1394 and HDTV connectors, or data encoded on separate electrical interfaces using a single connector, like HDMI and EVC connectors. Generally, in order to support communication of audiovisual information to appliances through single connector interfaces, an information handling system must include a mechanism that co-locates audio and video streams.
One standard interface for communication of information for an information handling system is the PCI Express standard. PCI Express graphics interfaces have a 16 lane width that is generally not compatible with communication of audio and video information to a graphics card as separate streams. Typically, PCI Express audio and visual outputs from an information handling system are handled separately within the information handling system. For example, video information is communicated from a memory hub to a graphics card over one PCI Express link for output through a video adapter while audio information is communicated from the memory hub through separate PCI Express links through an audio device to an audio output. The PCI Express standard lacks a defined mechanism to co-locate audio and video stream outputs from an information handling system. One solution that allows co-location of video and audio streams output from an information handling system is the use of a PCI bridge on a graphics card to allow support for multiple devices on a single card. However, PCI bridges tend to present a relatively expensive and complex solution for co-location of video and audio streams.